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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Monitoring Colony-level Effects of Sublethal Pesticide Exposure on Honey Bees
Published on: November 15, 2017
Effects of genotype, environment, and their interactions on honey bee health in Europe
Marina D Meixner1, Per Kryger2, Cecilia Costa3
1LLH Bee Institute, Erlenstr. 9, 35274 Kirchhain, Germany.
Abstract:
There are several reports of honey bee populations in Europe which survive without treatment for Varroa. However, when evaluated outside their native area, higher survival and resistance traits were not observed in colonies of a survivor population. Varroa infestation is strongly influenced by environmental factors, probably affecting threshold levels on a European scale. In a Europe-wide experiment colonies of local origin survived significantly longer than colonies of non-local origin, clearly indicating the presence of genotype-environment interactions. Transmission by Varroa selects for virulent strains of DWV, but it is currently unknown how these may interact with different genotypes of bees. The distribution of Nosema ceranae is significantly affected by environment, but there is at least one Nosema-resistant population.
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